As a trader, i recently discovered that fear in you greatest foe. Ditto in life.

I got rid of everything in my life that were nurturing my daily fears.
People, stuffs, and ultimately my own desires.The process was hard, tiring, an uphill battle. September 2015: i finally pulled it off.

I am free. As never before. I wish you can feel the same emotion at one point in your life. This freedom is so elating, so exciting. I can barely sleep at night.

Do you think my life in perfect thereby? Far from it!
Look at the picture. You see the crater? That’s my life now! I’m starting off from scratch. I don’t care how long it will take to rebuild everything. Because i enjoy every bit of every second i breathe. My core values are clear.

During 2012-2015, here are the lessons learned:

If you want a “second chance”, a new life, you will have to clean out your life first.Thoroughly.From A to Z. I would have no chance to find out my IKIGAI without wiping out fear(s) in my previous life. Then you start to rebuild. From scratch. At that point, record your life. Every moment deserves to be remembered. The good, the bad, the ugly = lesson learned. Because the JOURNEY is your life. There is no DESTINATION.

Goals,outcomes, desires are a byproduct of your journey. Nothing else. At the end of your life, the outcome(s)do not really matter much. Only the journey matters. A lot. That’s the reason you should NEVER NEVER pursue a path for the money only. Find out your IKIGAI first. Money will follow.

Tony Robbins’event UPW in 2014 (London). During 4 terrific days, my most inner beliefs and paradigm about what life means, had been changed very deeply. I set up a number of NLP’s tools in my daily life.

Later, i got a very profound interest about financial markets. Again.

I was flabbergasted when i understood how mindset & beliefs were a key factor to trade successfully.

90% mindset 10 % technical.

I made up a powerful strategy to create the right kind of mindset to become the BEST VERSION of myself as a trader. My Goals are now broken down :

Daily

10 days

Quaterly

Yearly

5 years

10 years

20 years

Lifetime goal

The day you want to reach your goal as much as you want to breathe, the whole game shifts. Forever.

I discovered the metatrader platform during a FED announcement (see economic calendar). I was like a child in “candy store” ( albeit candys = organic fruits for me). That day, i knew i would be a trader.

I’ve done lots of research about retail trader vs professional trader since. At the end of the day, tools are ONLY tools. Market makers may try you to get hooked with them. 98% retail trader fail because of these “tools” that turn trading into a video game.

Nevertheless, i could feel my heart beat because it was the 1st time. Great day! Life is about mastery. Mastery is about working smartly 115.000 hours 20 years in a row, year in year out.

Lesson learned: tools do not make you an outstanding trader. Mastery does.

Straight to the point. While i was watching the whole seasons, i could grasp the inner feelings of living wall street lifestyle. This lifestyle is NOT for everybody. If you know yourself, this way of life may turn into the greatest undertaking you will ever achieved.

I warmly recommend this website when YOU ARE ABOUT TO START OFF your journey as a trader.

You get an awesome eye opening view on:

INVESTMENT BANKING

PRIVATE EQUITY

HEDGE FUND

PROP TRADING DESK

CORPORATE FINANCE

Why is this website so interesting? One BIG REASON. You get an incredible amount of interviews of real people working in these different areas.

Tens of hours reading the interviews, i got a very acute grasp of the BIG PICTURE. I was able to find out what kind of PAWN i could be in the overall picture.With an open mind, this website will definitely help you to get grip on your career path.

During the end of summer 2015, my life as a trader trainee was triggered by this awesome book : SECOND CHANCE

I deeply encourage you to read this wonderful book.We all deserve a SECOND CHANCE in life. It all boils down to focus on a specific area! Come hell or high water, you must left no stone unturned.

I played the cashflow 101 game. I am enamoured by the financial world. Period!

To sum up, the metaphor you choose to represent your life is crucial. I see life as a GAME. I mean, i take life seriously but i do not take myself too seriously. For the next 2 DECADES, i have the gut feeling i will deeply enjoy the ride. Finding out your ” IKIGAI ” is the best feeling you can experience!